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Aristus

(72,214 posts)

6. I like the scene from "The West Wing" when they switched the slide from the Mercator Projection

Fri Aug 9, 2013, 03:55 PM

Aug 2013

to the Peters Projection. The significant difference between the two inspired C.J to ask the cartographers: "What is that?!?

Their reply: "It's where you've been living this whole time."

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The real size of the African Continent [View all] malaise Aug 2013 OP

Interesting! leftstreet Aug 2013 #1

Great illustration that. dipsydoodle Aug 2013 #2

I think France is too small in this map... truebrit71 Aug 2013 #3

The farther away from the equator the greater the distortion. Igel Aug 2013 #41

Great Britain fits into France at least four times... truebrit71 Aug 2013 #59

It's closer to two times; the projection makes sense with those numbers (nt) Posteritatis Aug 2013 #61

You are correct...it is England that fits into France four times.. truebrit71 Aug 2013 #62

Africa -- freakin' HUGE! Blue Owl Aug 2013 #4

+1 Baitball Blogger Aug 2013 #5

I can see it from my porch awoke_in_2003 Aug 2013 #56

I like the scene from "The West Wing" when they switched the slide from the Mercator Projection Aristus Aug 2013 #6

ROFL malaise Aug 2013 #11

I just saw that episode recently! RevStPatrick Aug 2013 #34

Love that one. Aristus Aug 2013 #37

Great line! RevStPatrick Aug 2013 #40

LOL malaise Aug 2013 #46

What your favorite map projection says about you. xkcd... progressoid Aug 2013 #7

Great stuff malaise Aug 2013 #8

"You like Isaac Asimov, XML and toes with shoes." CrispyQ Aug 2013 #10

That damn cartoon... krispos42 Aug 2013 #13

I don't really understand the purpose of the Peters map, kentauros Aug 2013 #15

"It freaks you out to realize that everyone around you has a skeleton inside them" arcane1 Aug 2013 #32

I have a globe PD Turk Aug 2013 #33

I'm a mix of... RevStPatrick Aug 2013 #42

Fab thread. CrispyQ Aug 2013 #9

Once we had a President who wanted Democracy and fair trade with African nations. Octafish Aug 2013 #12

Then Kennedy didn't know what they were doing malaise Aug 2013 #14

Frank 'Carlyle Group' Carlucci was working in Congo then. Octafish Aug 2013 #16

We've been reading quite a bit since it became official malaise Aug 2013 #17

Theres always SOMETHING to bitch about 7962 Aug 2013 #18

I have found that a flipped map forces you to look at the globe in a "new light" kentauros Aug 2013 #44

Like brushing your teeth with the opposite hand 7962 Aug 2013 #58

Continents are large. tabasco Aug 2013 #19

A friend of mine who just finished some NGO work in Africa Lee-Lee Aug 2013 #20

One of the reasons USA created AfricaCom dixiegrrrrl Aug 2013 #31

Africa is huge with 1+ billion people. What if they start manufacturing stuff the way Asians have pampango Aug 2013 #21

All I know is that it must be hard to catch up when millions of your healthiest people malaise Aug 2013 #22

So true. I hope they figure out another development path and can implement it successfully. pampango Aug 2013 #28

Bringing Slavery to Africa formercia Aug 2013 #30

If "the manufacturing route" will make them prosperous, that's what they should do. Nye Bevan Aug 2013 #35

Cool, but... Orrex Aug 2013 #23

Didn't look that far malaise Aug 2013 #24

I learned navigation before GPS and computers. GreenStormCloud Aug 2013 #25

Thanks for that lesson malaise Aug 2013 #26

Very interesting, and I had never heard any of that before! Orrex Aug 2013 #27

It's also funny how huge Greenland looks in that projection. Nye Bevan Aug 2013 #36

This is why everyone should have a globe around the house... PoliticAverse Aug 2013 #29

The best these days is a globe. hunter Aug 2013 #38

Agreed - both Mercator and Peters are full of shit derby378 Aug 2013 #43

This is one of the most useful conversations that has been ignored loyalsister Aug 2013 #39

I disagree malaise Aug 2013 #48

That's a good point loyalsister Aug 2013 #49

There was a French couple who walked from Cape Town to the Sea of Gallilee about ten years back... TheMightyFavog Aug 2013 #45

Serious trip that malaise Aug 2013 #51

They left out Alaska from USA. PowerToThePeople Aug 2013 #47

Australia isn't there either... mimi85 Aug 2013 #54

whoa..it's big Liberal_in_LA Aug 2013 #50

thank you for posting this, malaise arely staircase Aug 2013 #52

What a great idea malaise Aug 2013 #53

This isn't "map dishonesty" -- it's map mathematics Jim Lane Aug 2013 #55

But it's much more fun to pretend that Mercator was a racist imperialist Nye Bevan Aug 2013 #57

No 2-D projection can be accurate Recursion Aug 2013 #60